Between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo is Fort Custer National Cemetery. The cemetery was created in 1943 and became a national cemetery in 1981. The cemetery is a beautiful place and as I drove through I saw large expanses of beautifully mowed green grass. I thought it was strange that I did not see any headstones. It was when I got out of my jeep and looked that I noticed all the headstones evenly spaced carefully placed on the sacred ground.

The entrance is known as the Avenue of Flags with 152 flagpoles proudly standing along the road that leads into the cemetery. I wanted to stop and take a photo but there was a funeral precession preparing for a ceremony. I had planned on going back to the cemetery in may to take some photos for Memorial Day while but unfortunately I am not able to.

If you are ever near this cemetery or the other national cemetery in Holly and Grand Rapids be sure to take a drive through them to remind yourself of the true price of freedom.

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St. Mary’s Church stands quietly in the small town of Indianville northwest of Burt Lake. Behind the small country church, is an old cemetery marked with white wooden crosses. As you can see from the photos, I visited in the fall, but I thought it would be a good time to share my pics with Memorial Day coming up.

There were also some newer headstones in the cemetery, and this one fore Julius C. Lewis stood out as his headstone notes he was awarded the Purple Heart and a POW. Thank you to all the veterans and especially the ones who gave their lives for our freedom. We need to remember their sacrifices all year long.

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Lakeside Cemetery was established in 1877 when the city of Port Huron, purchased 148 acres from local resident John Hoffman. The Soldiers’ Lots were donated to the United States in 1881, when 135 remains from Old Fort Gratiot were re-interred at the cemetery. There were two installations known as Fort Gratiot; the first dated from 1814-1821, the second from 1828-1879. Both were located on the same site, on the west bank of the St. Clair River, approximately two miles south of Lakeside Cemetery. Of the 135 interments in the soldiers’ lot, only 35 are known. On July 7, 1884, the federal government dedicated a monument at the Lakeside Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot to honor the unknown soldiers from Fort Gratiot who fell victims to the cholera epidemic, July 4, to 18, 1832.

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Rows of simple wooden crosses mark the Odawa Indians Laid to rest in the Middle Village Cemetery near Good Hart on M119, between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. The village is along the ” Tunnel of Trees” route that follows the shoreline of lake Michigan. I am not sure if there is an official ranking of cemeteries, but what I do know, is it sure was a beautiful place when I visited it.

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When traveling around Michigan I visit many towns and cities of all sizes. While I am exploring I will take a quick tour of the cemetery, especially if it has old tombstones. I was in the town of Leonidas and I saw this old cemetery not far from town. In a quiet section near the front of the cemetery stands this simple stone marker that has THOMAS WEST 1808-1883 carved into it.  I don’t know his story but I do know an American flag is planted beside his marker and proudly waves in the breeze commemorating his service to our county. It does not matter if a veteran is buried in the largest national cemetery in the county or laid to rest in a simple grave in a remote part of the world their sacrifice deserves to be remembered.

P.S. If you have been following my posts for a while you know I have been posting pics from my archive. This is the time I would normally be posting from my archive even if everything in the world was as life as normal. As I travel throughout the year I take pics of different cemeteries, monuments, and memorials to post near Memorial Day. Just to let you know for the next few days you will be seeing some of my pics I have taken in the past year that I have been waiting to post for this time of year. I guess I am telling you this because I like to keep the subjects of my posts somewhat random but this week they may be somewhat similar just different locations.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts and I hope you enjoy what I write.

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Most of the tombstones in Tucker Cemetery are broken or completely missing. This one for Ashel Atherton dated 1884 is one of just a couple that still remains standing. Hidden in the sparsely populated woods in the Ogemaw Hills, the cemetery is left over from the lumbering days. It is northwest of Rose City off a sandy forest trail and forgotten by most people. It is kind of an eerie sight to come across to see this old cemetery so far from civilization if you are out riding the trails in an ORV.

Time to announce the winner of the Camp Michigan books. Thank you to everyone who commented. it was so nice to read all the kind and supportive comments. Congratulations to Elizabeth Dewar she is the winner, please email me at mike@huronphoto.com with your address and I will send out your books.

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Northwest of Brimley along the Lake Superior shoreline is Bay Mills. The area is home to the Bay Mills Indian tribe. Along the road is an old Indian Cemetery and according to the sign in the back it was established in 1841.

The graves are covered with wooden spirit houses. The wooden houses are built to protect the body as the soul passes to the spirit world. Many times relatives would leave food and tools for the deceased loved one to use as they travel to the spirit world.

The cemetery is not open to the public but it is next to the road. I took this pic from the fence. Sometimes I will see spirit houses in other cemeteries, especially in northern Michigan. Next time you are out exploring the mitten state and you see an old cemetery with wooden houses now you will know what they are if you didn’t already.

This Saturday ( Nov 23rd ) I will be at Handy Middle School in Bay City for their annual bazaar. I will be selling books, calendars, and T-Shirts. I hope you will stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

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